Ditto on the entrained air thoughts George, as we know, Ecotec engines are notoriously difficult to purge air from after draining the cooling systems.

A trip to a reputable radiator shop to have them pull a vacuum on the cooling system might be the answer to your problems vapinhhr707.

 

Here's a theory: the bubble is likely in the heater core. The coolant flows to the core via the bypass hose.
Therefore running the engine under 180F should force coolant into the core.

Just a thought.

 

I just got some really unfortunate news. The head gasket is blown.

 

So I figured I would start this thread to ask if anyone has a step by step head gasket replacement guide. Since I definitely cant afford 2k I need to know if I can do this myself.

 

Check your PM.

BTW, $2000 should pay for a used engine installed. That's what it cost me anyway.

More like $1000 for the head gasket, but you should add a new chain and guides to the job (about $180 parts). I am guessing about 6-8 hours labor. Should be only an hour extra labor for a new chain & guides the chain has to be R&Rd anyway the guides are fast work.

 

Money is really tight. I use this HHR for uber and with it overheating like it is I have no choice but to only replace what I can afford. Which right now is only the head gasket and head if it is warped.

 

You'll be sorry if you don't just throw a new chain and guides on. Same labor involved.

 

When my lovely daughter killed my '06 HHR by not keeping the cooling system filled {even though she had been shown how several many times}

Her car needed some work and she has a job and I am retired so I let her take the HHR while I fixed her car. The work on her car only took a day or so and in that little while she killed my car. We ended up buying a '05 PT Cruiser GT Turbo convertible to get around with while the HHR was being fixed.

So anyway,I got a used engine from South West Engines at

Buy Used Engines For Sale | SWEngines

I did extensive online searches and looked at, or at least called every junkyard around my area for another engine but found very few and none with a 2 year warranty. I figure they already crushed any '06's they got in or simply did not have any.

The '06 HHR engine is kind of a stand alone engine when it comes to HHR's there are a few other vehicles like early Cobalt and Saturn Vue that have the same engine and will work but they too must be from a '06.

I got the extra two year warranty and paid around $1200.00 including shipping.

The shop that put the engine in charged me a tad over 1100.00 to install it and put on a new exhaust that I ordered from a seller on eBay. This was still less expensive than getting another car. The HHR is still percolating along with over 230.000 on the clock now.

Before that I replaced the head gasket, timing chain, sprockets, chain guides, timing chain tensioner, and water pump.

I got the head gasket kit and timing chain and guides from different sellers on eBay for $89.00 and free shipping for the head gasket kit and around $84.00 for the timing chain and tensioner kit also with free shipping, the timing chain kit included the new style chain tensioner.

The water pump came from Auto Zone.

My younger brother did most of the head gasket replacement for me as my back was out of whack when the parts came in. Besides, I was mostly in his way when we started doing it.

The work was delayed for a few days because we sent the head off to be magnafluxed to check for cracks. That cost around $50.00. We left the block in the car but we did a pretty darn careful inspection looking for cracks that might have cause the oil and antifreeze to mix. We couldn't see any.

After we got the head gasket in, the car was fine for just over a month then one day I checked the oil and found antifreeze in it again. We were going to order new parts and try again but the kid killed it before we got around to it.

If you really do replace the head gasket it would behoove you to do the water pump. Its much easier to get to with the head off. I suppose you can inspect the timing chain and guides when you have it apart to see if they are worn much. Mine really were not that bad but I had already ordered the parts so they went in.

 

I guess the good part of that is its not leaking into the oil. Its leaking into the combustion chamber, and causing misfires. How ever I am in talks with the dealer that sold me the car and the warranty coverage that I have. I am dearly hoping that this issue gets fixed.

 

And I just got some more bad news. After replacing a blown out hose, radiator cap, and a new head gasket. I am still having issues.

The cooling system is loosing pressure, and there are no visible leaks from what the mechanic is telling me.

Does anybody have any ideas on what this problem could be?